Colorado State did just enough to secure a home victory over their in-state rival Colorado Saturday afternoon, winning by the final score of 91-86. Free throw shooting late into the game helped the Rams improve to 7-2 on the season, handing the Buffs their first loss of the year.
Colorado couldn't defend the three
It was a reoccurring theme all game for Colorado as they let Josh Pascarelli do whatever he wanted. Fresh off a 28-point performance against South Florida, he didn't miss a beat. The junior guard shot 8-of-10 from downtown, scoring a game-high 26 points.
Colorado State nearly doubled Colorado's three-point attempts as they shot 18-of-35 from beyond the arc. Colorado made some adjustments late in the second half but continued to let Colorado State hoist it from three.
Rams junior forward Kyle Jorgensen also played a key part in their win. He finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including going 3-of-6 from three. Kyle added seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals to his credit.
Colorado once trailed by 13 points in this game, but it's the freshmen that continue to keep them afloat
Isiah Johnson, playing in his first true road game as a collegiate player, helped propel Colorado to a 11-0 run in the second half. His aggressive play by attacking the basket has played a huge part in Colorado's paint production.
Colorado outscored Colorado State 56-20 in the paint
Johnson finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, going 2-of-4 from three in 29 minutes.
Alon Michaeli has been the other standout freshman. He didn't look like one, scoring a team-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting while knocking down a trio of three's. Johnson and Michaeli combined for 36 of Colorado's 44 bench points.
Questionable call ends Colorado's momentum
It's not my place to point the blame for a basketball game's outcome at the officials, but this is where we are at right now.
After getting called for a blocking foul at the other end, leading to a three-point play for Colorado State to go up by one in the waning minutes, the unthinkable happened.
Isaiah Johnson went up for a layup and the ball went out of bounds as a result. After first glance, it looked like it went off of Colorado's Bangot Dak. But as they continued to show the replay over and over, the ball looked as if it went off the finger tips of Rams forward Kyle Jorgensen.
Rams head coach Ali Farokhmanesh called for a coaches challenge.
Initial ruling was Colorado State's ball, then overruled by a ref to go in favor of Colorado. It took nearly five minutes for the review to be resolved in the Rams' favor.
I'll never understand how a replay would take that long just to overturn a call. It would usually be deemed a standing call in that case, resulting in Colorado getting the ball.
It essentially ruined all the momentum Colorado had.